Waste collection and disposal systems are well known for use in health care facilities to collect waste material generated during medical procedures. Examples of such systems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,446 to Parker and U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,733 to Wilbur et al. In these types of systems, the waste material is collected in a waste container connected to a vacuum source. A portable cart supports the waste container for moving throughout the health care facility. One or more suction lines extend from the waste container and are positioned near the site from which the waste material is to be collected. When the vacuum source is operating, the waste material is drawn through the suction lines into the waste container. The waste material is typically collected until the waste container is filled to a predetermined level. Once the waste container is full, or if an empty waste container is required prior to being full, the waste collection unit is wheeled to a docking station to be emptied and cleaned. The waste collection unit docks to the docking station to begin emptying. Once emptied, the waste container is cleaned by a cleaning system with disinfectant and rinsed.
While providing suitable waste collection and disposal, these prior art systems could be improved. For instance, these prior art systems employ a single waste container for collecting the waste material. As a result, if there is a particular need for the waste container to be emptied prior to use, the waste collection unit must be wheeled down to the docking station to off-load any collected waste material before resuming operation. If a series of medical procedures are performed in which it is necessary to empty the waste container before each procedure, the user could find it annoying to have to continuously wheel the waste collection unit back and forth between a use area, such as an operating room, and the docking station, which is typically situated outside of the operating room in a hallway near a waste drain. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system that is capable of use in multiple medical procedures requiring an empty waste container without the need to dock the waste collection unit to the docking station.
Moreover, it is common for medical personnel to, during a procedure, glance at the unit's container to obtain a quick visual estimate of the amount of material removed during the procedure. Many known waste collection units have containers capable of storing 15 liters or more of extracted material. Thus, these containers are relatively large in size. Accordingly, a quick glance at one of these containers to estimate the quantity of removed material produces only a rough estimate of removed material. In theory, one could improve the estimate by substituting a smaller sized container. Glancing at this size of container would provide a more precise estimate of removed material. However, a disadvantage of providing a waste collection unit with a small container, for example one capable of storing 10 or less liters of waste would mean that the container would become filled more quickly. This would then result in the interruption of the procedure in order to empty the waste collection unit. Having to delay the procedure to perform this task runs counter to one of the goals of modem surgery; that the time to perform the procedure should be as fast as possible in order to minimize the time the patient is held under anesthesia.
In certain instances, it may become necessary to use a plurality of suction lines to draw waste materials from a plurality of sites during a medical procedure. Currently, the prior art systems allow for utilizing multiple suction lines, but only a single vacuum source is available such that each suction line essentially operates under the same vacuum pressure. As medical procedures become more advanced and faster-paced to improve patient outcomes, there is an increasing need to provide different vacuum levels in the suction lines during the same medical procedure.
The waste collection units of the prior art currently employ a float to prevent the waste material from entering the vacuum source once the waste material reaches a predetermined threshold level in the waste container. However, these units are also susceptible to water droplets that may enter the vacuum source inadvertently before the waste material rises to the predetermined threshold level in the waste container. Therefore, there is a need for an assembly that not only prevents the waste material from entering the vacuum source, but also prevents other potentially harmful materials from entering the vacuum source, such as water droplets that may foul the downstream vacuum source.
The vacuum source and cleaning system of the prior art waste collection unit are connected to the waste container through various waste and/or water lines supported on the portable cart. Often, these lines are hoses connected to barbed nozzles on conventional connectors that are threaded into caps of the waste containers. Once the hoses are connected to the barbed nozzles, they are difficult to remove for servicing. Therefore, there is a need for quick-releasing connectors on these lines to simplify servicing of the waste collection unit.
The known waste collection units also have electromechanical systems that provide indications of the volume of waste stored in their containers. Often this system includes some type of float member the position of which is sensed. Based on the height of the float member in the container, this volume measuring system outputs data indicating the volume of waste in the container. The known prior art volume measuring systems do not take into account variations in volume due to temperature or variations in volume due to the manufacturing of each container. Therefore, there is a need for a sensing device which can share components to lower cost and which takes into account temperature and manufacturing variations of the containers.
Smoke evacuation systems of the prior art utilize a blower to draw in air and smoke from a surgical area. Unfortunately, these blowers, when operating, tend to be noisy, and thus distracting to medical personnel performing the medical procedures. Therefore, there is a need for a smoke evacuation system that reduces noise yet maintains performance standards for removing smoke.
Prior art waste collection systems have typically included an IV pole for supporting one or more IV bags. The IV pole is supported by a mobile waste collection unit, such that it is movable with the waste collection unit. Unfortunately, the height of such IV poles often prohibits medical personnel of a smaller stature from reaching the top of the IV pole to hang the IV bags. Furthermore, the IV poles are prone to damage from doorways and other structures when the waste collection unit is moved. Therefore, there is a need for an IV pole that is retractable such that smaller stature medical personnel can operate them and damage to the IV pole is minimized.
In one example of a prior art system, the waste collection unit includes a first pair of couplings that lead to the waste container and the cleaning system. The first pair of couplings is disposed on a front of the waste collection unit. The docking station includes a cabinet that houses a second pair of couplings for mating with the complimentary first pair of couplings on the waste collection unit. These couplings mate to drain the waste material from the waste containers during docking and to provide cleaner to the waste collection unit. When docking, the waste collection unit engages the docking station to open a set of doors that otherwise conceal the second pair of couplings. When the doors are opened, the second pair of couplings advances from inside the cabinet to outside the cabinet to engage the first pair of couplings of the waste collection unit. When off-loading the waste material, the first pair of couplings can become dirtied with waste material, and since they are externally disposed on the front of the waste collection unit, can be unsightly. Therefore, there is a need for improved docking between the waste collection unit and the docking station to reduce any visually unappealing conditions.
The cleaning systems of the prior art waste collection units include a sprinkler that operates similarly to a rotating lawn sprinkler with moving parts that are subject to breaking. It is desirable to reduce the number of moving parts in the sprinkler. It is also desirable to provide a sprinkler that is capable of simultaneously directing a stream of cleaner to each of the parts of the waste containers that need to be cleaned.